TS ISO 3166-2

TS ISO 3166-2 is the second part of the ISO 3166 family and is intended to be used together with ISO 3166-1. It defines a code structure for representing the names of the principal administrative subdivisions of countries and other geopolitical entities covered by ISO 3166-1, helping standardise references to provinces, states, regions, cantons and similar subnational areas.

What the code structure is meant to do

The technical value of this standard is that it links geographic names to structured code elements rather than relying on names alone. That reduces ambiguity when a country has many subdivisions, when names appear in different languages, or when similar administrative categories are used across jurisdictions. In general technical use, such coding systems bridge human-readable place names and machine-processable identifiers, which supports data exchange, records management and cross-system matching.

Content covered in this edition

• Clauses 4 to 7 provide the framework for codes representing the principal administrative divisions of countries and geopolitical entities.
• Clause 8 contains the list of subdivision names together with the developed code element for each country or geopolitical entity.
• The standard is designed to be used alongside ISO 3166-1, not as a standalone country code system.
• The coding approach supports consistent representation of subdivision names across languages and writing conventions.

This record represents a withdrawn TS ISO 3166-2 edition, so it is relevant as an archival and reference document. More broadly, the subject matter underpins geographic data standardisation in information systems, logistics, official registers and other environments where territorial hierarchy must be represented consistently.